First day of Senior Year

Hey friends,

So I am currently FREAKING OUT as I write this. Why you might ask? Because I have just finished my last first day as an undergraduate. Freshman year feels like it was just yesterday. Feels like I am still stressing if nursing was right for me. I still remember the day that I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It was one of the nursing department's pre-nursing social events. We were watching Call The Midwife and having some raffles. The big prize was a Stethoscope! We were able to pick raffle numbers that day and I went with my favorite number 3. I had already won a shirt for the raffle, but the Dean decided to put all the tickets back into the basket. Everyone was nervously waiting for the ticket to be pulled and shortly she read the number 3. I could not believe that I had won. I never win anything in my life!

Just hearing that story may not seem like a lot by itself. It is really was happened the morning of that gives it meaning. I was really stressed out with grasping anatomy and felt like maybe I should change majors. Up to this point I had a C in Anatomy which would have kept me from joining the program. I had prayed about it and asked for a sign letting me know if I was in the right place. Well God really did give me a sign with a raspberry Littmann Stethoscope. Whenever I am having a rough day, I remember this moment. 

Now onto how my first day went. I was really nervous prior to today. I am not sure if it was because I had not really heard what these classes were like, if it was the fact that we did not have a syllabus, or if it was because it is my senior year. Lately I have been thinking about how unprepared I feel to enter the "real" world. It is scary to know that soon my own license is on the line now as I care for patient. Regardless of the reasons I really did not need to be nervous. Today went great. 

I have an early morning religion class sort of about living a holy life and what that looks like as Christians. I love how quirky and young my teacher is. It also helps that he is sort of anti-traditional teaching methods. 

Following that I have my nursing leadership class. I have never had this professor before and upon meeting her all I can say is how awesome she is. Her attitude is uplifting and really makes you believe in yourself. I cannot wait to learn from her. This class is where I will learn what makes a great leader, what team work as a nurse looks like, how to present myself for an interview, and resume building. Essentially it is truly preparing me for the real world. 

I also found out that my preceptorship (12-12hour shifts following a nurse)on an ICU unit. I luckily also got a day shift. Must be another God thing because I actually work at night and this would have been a big conflict. I have orientation on Thursday where I will actually learn more about the nurse. 

My last class of the day was a general education history course that covers the beginning of time to the 1500s. I am not looking forward to this at all. For some reason I am just not a fan of history. 

Of course my schedule looks very different depending on the day. I think I have a total of five classes or 15 units total. I am so excited to see what this semester brings for me and cannot wait to share more nursing items from my life here. I hope everyone else has had a great first day. I would love to read about your days.